Live Streaming
the most common question in our support desk is: can we live stream to Roku, or can we use TV Boss Fire to live stream to Amazon Fire?
Well … the answer is YES.
From a technical point of view, Roku has allowed and made possible live streaming since the beginning of Roku. Of course, TV Boss Fire fire is adapted to the latest Roku technical requirements you see, so yes, you can live stream using TV Boss Fire.
To live stream, you need the same data you need for any regular video you want to add to your channel: a URL, a thumbnail image, title, description, bit-rate, and duration.
But, and there’s a big but.
Because of how Roku updates the TV feeds and channels, you need to make some adaptions.
Remember that Roku auto update every TV feed about four times a day, and during weekends sometimes only once or once every other day. The channel publishing and approval process can take two to four days.
So we need to adapt.
First, you need to have a 24/7 or evergreen live feed. That means you must have content in your feed at all times. You can have ads, pre-recorded content, or your live streaming schedule, for example, running on a loop.
Anything that could benefit you and will keep your feed live.
Secondly, because of how live feeds are, from a technical point of view, your bit rate can vary from frame to frame, so should you use in your setup the minimal bit rate your video will require.
You also need to know what type of stream you have.
At this point, Roku allows three types of streams: HLS, SMOOTH, and DASH.
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Finally, you’ll need a duration.
The live feed needs to be 24/7, so what duration should you use?
In this case, we can take advantage of a factory setting Roku has built-in in every Roku device – the four-hour disconnect setting.
If a device runs continuously for four hours without user input, Roku will prompt a notification, asking you to take action, or the device will stop.
If we use a four-hour duration, the live stream will work properly without interruption for as much as four hours. So if you use a shorter period, the video will stop at the end of the time you set, and the user, or the viewer, will need to click – continue.
When you have all the required elements, it’s a straightforward setup; just set it up as you do with any standard video. Add a video id, add the title, add a description, upload a thumbnail image, set up a tag, select the genre, and in the content field, add your stream URL; select the quality, select the video type, bit-rate, and duration.
Click save.
That’s it.
Your live stream is on Roku.
It’s this easy. I hope it wasn’t too complicated.
See you in the next article.